Premier League football returns this weekend with numerous fixtures to look forward to, but, as usual, Manchester United is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
On Thursday, the club announced that Jadon Sancho will be training alone due to a ‘squad discipline issue’. This follows his social media post claiming that Ten Hag’s comments about his training performances were ‘completely untrue,’ which took him over a week to take down. According to reports, Ten Hag has demanded an apology from the player before he can reintegrate him into the first-team training.
The distracting news couldn’t come at a worse time for United, who are going through a phase of mixed results in the Premier League with two wins and two defeats in their opening four games. This weekend they face an in-form Brighton & Hove side who will be looking to prove they can play with the big boys this season, and their players will be reading the news with a grin on their faces.
To make matters worse, there’s an issue with Antony hanging about, and Harry Maguire is on a PR campaign to start games despite his performances leaving a lot to be desired.
For long-term Manchester United fans, player power isn’t something new in the club, but it has been worse since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, especially in recent years.
While Manchester United is no longer highly mentioned in teams vying for the league title before the ball is even kicked, the club still bestows superstar status on many who join.
In the case of Jadon Sancho, who hasn’t delivered since his £73m move to Old Trafford in 2021, he has inherited the ‘star’ title without really earning it in a United shirt, and probably feels his price tag justifies his behavior.
Previously, Manchester United players had to give their all, win cups and leagues, and perform well in the Champions League, or possibly even win it, to be considered big players at Manchester United. That’s all changed, but Ten Hag is well on his way to returning the club to expected standards.
Only a player who believes he’s a superstar of the club can put out a statement completely disputing what his manager has said about them in a post-match media briefing. Ten Hag and the club have sent a strong message to the player by freezing him out of first-team training following his social media statement until he apologises.
As cliché as this may be, no player is bigger than the shirt they wear, and this should be a daily reminder to most professional players, including modern footballers who seem adamant about wanting to control their PR while not producing on the field. Sancho’s numbers at United speak for themselves.
